Rafael Nadal looms as tennis’ ‘most dangerous draw floater’ ever despite loss to Alex de Minaur

An abbreviated service motion aside, the return of Rafael Nadal to one of his many clay court kingdoms in Europe this week has been widely celebrated in tennis.

Well, almost. For as 2023 Wimbledon quarterfinalist Chris Eubanks intimated midway through the Spaniard’s comeback in Barcelona, a fit Nadal on clay shapes as a nightmare for every rival over the next month, despite his loss on Wednesday to Alex de Minaur.

Should the 37-year-old’s body hold up to the rigours of competitive play through to Roland Garros, which begins on May 26, Nadal appeals as the most dangerous unseeded floater tennis has seen given his unprecedented feats on the surface.

Currently ranked 664, the 22-time major champion will be able to use his protected ranking to enter events including Roland Garros, where he would be bidding for a 15th title.

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But the protected ranking does not have an impact on seedings and, pending his fitness and barring a major change in approach from the French Tennis Federation, Nadal will arrive in Paris unseeded.

Roland Garros officials have opted against adjusting Nadal’s seeding in the past when he has been either injured for a period (2013), or suffered a dip in form (2015), or for his triumph in 2022, which resulted in a quarterfinal against Novak Djokovic.

“As a tennis fan, I’m super excited to see him back. He is clearly playing pretty well,” Eubanks told The Tennis Channel.

“The flipside to that is that he is unseeded, so he can get anybody early in a grand slam, early in a Masters 1000, and that is where it starts to get a little bit like, ‘Oh man’. You love to see the guy walking around, as long as he is on the opposite side of the draw to you.”

Nadal was given a standing ovation as he farewelled the crowd in Barcelona after a 7-5 6-1 to de Minaur, who became the first Australian player to defeat the Spaniard on clay during a career now into its third decade.

The emotion in Barcelona was understandable given his repeated false starts in recent months had heightened concerns the Spaniard, a 12-time champion in the city, might never return to the baseline competitively.

Roger Federer’s career was ended by what seemed an innocuous knee injury. And Nadal’s ailments with his feet, hip, knees and, more recently, abdominal concerns are well known.

With the exit line closer than ever, the return of the 22-time major champion to the court was poignant.

Similarly to watching Tiger Woods at Augusta, it was a reminder to appreciate to a legend in action while they are still capable of producing moments of magic that wind back the clock.

Tiger set a new record for consecutive cuts at The Masters but faded last Sunday to produce his worst overall score of his career when taking 304 shots to record a 16-over the card.

Nadal, who aborted comeback attempts in Melbourne in January, the Middle East in February, Indian Wells in March and then Monte Carlo last week, is back but whether he can add further silverware to his trophy cabinet remains to be seen.

In his first outing since a loss to Australian Jordan Thompson in Brisbane in January, which was his first tournament in a year, he defeated emerging Italian Flavio Cobolli 6-2 6-3.

Against de Minaur, the Spaniard was put to the test early by the Sydneysider, whose deft touch with drop shots was a feature. When Nadal broke to level at 3-all, the crowd in Barcelona roared. Long live the King!

But ultimately his charge ran out of steam with de Minaur, who is looking increasingly comfortable on clay, claimed eight of the last nine games to set up a third round encounter against rapidly-rising French teenager Arthur Fils.

Was it a vintage performance from the clay court King? No. There are challenges ahead.

Paul Annacone, who has coached Pete Sampras and Federer and worked with Tennis Australia, said midway through Nadal’s opening round victory that he will need to improve to contend.

Nadal struggled with his famous forehand at times and won two-thirds of his points from errors from Cobolli, who reached the third round of the Australian Open but struggled to produce his best given the occasion.

The left-hander’s service speed was regularly recorded in the 160-180kmh mark, which is not surprising as he opted to slice the ball almost exclusively to protect his body.

Match fitness is as much a factor as his general fitness. A quarterfinalist in the Monte Carlo Masters last week when edged by Novak Djokovic, de Minaur said after his victory there would scarcely be a better opportunity to tackle the great on clay than now.

“I think about the only thing I might have on Rafa on clay is physicality at this stage of his career,” De Minaur said.

“I can probably say that I’m very, very fortunate that I didn’t play Rafa a couple years earlier on the clay. It would have been very, very different result. An amazing experience and we move on. It’s been a great year.”

But Nadal was encouraged by his deeds in Barcelona and rightly pointed out the main goal is Paris, with the Roland Garros title to be decided on June 9.

“I feel much more comfortable and happier today than one week and a half ago,” Nadal told the ATP website.

“I was able to play manage to play two matches (and) played against a great player. I was not very far (away), without a doubt.

“I feel myself, if I am able to keep practising days on the Tour, and my body allows me to spend hours on court and have practices the way that I need, I hope to be competitive.

“I hope and believe I can be competitive in a few weeks. That’s the way I need to proceed today, and to give me the best chance to at least be ready to compete at Roland Garros.”

The Madrid Masters is now played over two weeks, with the Italian Open, where Nadal is a 10-time champion, to follow leading into

Roland Garros.

If fit and in form, the No.644 remains the man to beat on clay. Fighting his body and finding a way to find his best is a challenge Nadal said “feels enjoyable (enough) to keep doing”.

“I am going through tough moments, but at the same time, when I am able to be on the tour for a few days and practice with the guys, and then be able to compete a little bit, it means a lot to me,” he said.

“I didn’t have to make (an) amazing effort in terms of physical demands. Let’s see if I’m able to keep managing that the proper way.”